The head of Woori Finance Holdings Co. on Tuesday called for the quick privatization of Korea's top banking group, saying that a merger with KB Financial Group Co. could be one of the options for the sale.
The sale of Woori Finance has been foiled several times due to a lack of investor interest and the government is again seeking to sell its 56.97 percent stake in Woori with an aim to pick a preferred bidder by September.
"Any ways to privatize Woori Finance could be accepted," Lee Pal-seung, chairman of Woori Finance, told reporters.
"It would not matter whether (Woori Finance) will merge with KB Financial or a consortium will buy Woori Finance," Lee said, adding that a merger with KB Financial may be desirable if it could help promote the development of the local financial industry.
His remarks came as market speculation has risen that KB Financial, South Korea's No. 2 financial services company, may merge with Woori Finance. KB Financial controls Kookmin Bank, the nation's largest lender.
On April 29, the government resumed the privatization process in a bid to recoup taxpayers' money valued at more than 12 trillion won (US$10.4 billion), which was injected into Woori Finance in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
The public fund oversight committee, which handles state asset sales, plans to receive preliminary bids for the sale till July 27 and to shortlist potential buyers.
But labor unionists at Woori Finance have expressed outright opposition to KB Financial's possible merger with their banking group, threatening to wage a labor strike if it takes place.
They argued the creation of a mega financial institution will buck a global trend of splitting big financial firms into smaller ones following the global financial crisis.
The sale of Woori Finance is one of the top priorities pushed by the government as part of its broader plans to privatize financial institutions, including state-run Korea Development Bank, to raise competitiveness in the financial sector.(Yonhap)